Advocacy
Progress Through Preservation of Greater Akron is committed to safeguarding the cultural heritage of our community by advocating for the preservation, restoration and adaptive reuse of historically and architecturally significant structures and sites. Through advocacy, education, and community engagement, we volunteer our time, efforts, and work tirelessly to ensure that history remains a vibrant and integral part of our evolving landscape.
PTP has worked in cooperation with the City of Akron, Akron Public Schools (APS), The University of Akron, Keep Akron Beautiful, as well as local, state, and regional community and historic preservation organizations including Cascade Locks Park Association, Summit County Historical Society, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Cleveland Restoration Society and its Preservation Resource Center of Northeastern Ohio, Heritage Ohio, the Ohio Historical Society, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) through its Midwest Office in Chicago.
Learn more about PTP's early projects and advocacy efforts.
Current Advocacy Effort: The Glendale Steps & Glendale Park
For decades, PTP has been dedicated to highlighting the historic relevance of the Glendale Steps. This distinctive sandstone monument was the brainchild of Stan Hywet matriarch and Akron Garden Club president, Gertrude Sieberling. The idea was to create a "beauty spot" outside of industrial downtown Akron and also serve as a connector between the West Hill neighborhood and Glendale Park, a proposed gateway to downtown Akron. Warren H. Manning was the nationally renowned landscape architect that was contracted to produce the design. He was also responsible for designing the grounds at Stan Hywet, as well as the neighborhoods of Goodyear Heights and Fairlawn Heights. As a result of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) efforts of the 1930's, the Glendale Steps materialized spanning a impressive 200 foot incline into the hillside and consisting of 242 steps. Throughout the years the steps have fallen into obscurity and have been subject to neglect and vandalism.
In 2023, PTP was successful in achieving the listing of the Glendale Steps in the National Register of Historic Places. In 2024, PTP partnered with MKSK, a Planning, Urban Design, and Landscape Architecture Firm to develop a Community Visioning Plan of proposed concepts that could potentially be implemented to revitalize Glendale Steps and Glendale Park.
PTP's List of Akron's Most Endangered Historic Buildings
PTP's Advocacy Committee has compiled a comprehensive list of Akron's most at-risk structures. Click here to explore and learn more .
Summit County's Demolition List
Click here to see the September 2024 list of structures to be razed in Summit County. Learn more about it in the recent Akron Beacon Journal article.